Archive for the ‘News’ Category

On Wednesday the Maties cycling team won the USSA title for a third consecutive year after total domination on the road.

This follows the success of the Steinhoff Maties rugby team that finally won the USSA title with its fourth final. The tournament took place in Johannesburg.

In Port Elizabeth the Maties men and women’s team won the road competition. Gert Heyns and Frances du Toit were the individual winners. Riders from Maties won every stage. Max Sullivan won the green jersey as best sprinter en Heyns the polka-dot jersey for best climber.

The Maties rugby team beat Pukke 19-13 in the final played at the Wits stadium. Braam Venter and his team started the week with a victory over CUT (84-7) and easily dispatched Shimlas (50-7) in the semi-final.

It was a thriller of a final against the team from Potchefstroom that eliminated the home university Wits in the semi-finals.

“I am very pleased and relieved that we could win the final. We have come close to winning other for the last few years. To win the title means a lot to us. We can now build on this for the rest of the WP league and what we’ve learned here we can even use in next year’s Varsity Cup tournament,” said Venter.

Maties is now the USSA champions for both 15man and Sevens rugby. Venter was also the captain of the sevens team that won the last USSA tournament for sevens. The USSA Sevens Rugby Tournament is in September this year.

The rugby team is the only team to win a title last week. The Maties cycling team is currently in Port Elizabeth where the team is the two-time defending champion.

The Maties gymnastics team won the team competition and ended second overall to Pukke. The badminton and tennis teams were both third.

Every dark cloud has a silver lining and for the Maties rugby team it is the individual awards for Kobus van Dyk and Craig Barry.

Maties lost the final of the Varsity Cup in Pretoria against Tuks (21-28). Van Dyk was not only named the Player of the Tournament, but also voted the best forward in the series. Barry was rewarded as the best backline player.

The duo, along with Duncan Saal was also included in the Dream Team that will play against the Junior Springboks in the Danie Craven Stadium on Tuesday. There are also three Maties on the bench. They are Ernst Stapelberg, Michal Haznar and Johan Momsen.

The disappointment was big for Barry and his men. Barry, however, made it clear that the defeat cannot undo the good things that have happened over the past few months.

“The tournament was actually a huge success for us. Several players had the opportunity to prove themselves and were very successful. For us that was not the end which we have worked or planned for, but there are many positive aspects that we can take from the tournament. The Maties jersey is certainly in a better place. We as a team are not defined by the defeat, but by the collective effort we all put in run-up and during the course of the tournament,” Barry said.

For Barry it was his last Varsity Cup. With 42 games he is the player who made the most appearances ever in the series and with his 16 tries – nine in the last series – he is also the Varsity Cup’s leading try-scorer.

Logan Boonzaaier’s story is not just one that proves dreams do come true, or that hard work will get rewarded, but also that the structures Stellenbosch University and Maties Sport put in place to help prospective and current student-athletes, work.

Boonzaaier has just made his debut for Maties in the Varsity Cup series. His first match in the Maroon jersey is only the end of a very interesting story of determination.

“I was eager to study at the Stellenbosch University. So I applied for the SciMathUS programme 2015 so that I could improve the necessary marks and become a Matie. SciMathUS not only helped me to improve my marks and get admission to the US, but it has also taught me to prioritize better. For me to study and get my degree is the most important. I want to achieve something in my life. I want to someday get a good job,” said the native of Franschhoek.

This programme offers learners, who have already passed Grade 12 (with an average of at least 60%) but who do not qualify for higher education, a second opportunity to improve their NSC results in specific subjects to enable them to re-apply for university programmes. he programme offers students a choice between a Science and Accounting stream. Students therefore take either Mathematics and Physical Sciences. These students rewrite the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination in both subjects; or Mathematics and Introduction into Financial Accounting and Introduction in Economics. These students rewrite the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination only in Mathematics. The other two subjects are offered and assessed by Stellenbosch University as part of the Extended degree programme in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. The programme follows an active learning ​approach where students learn to take responsibility for their own learning.

Boonzaaier got admission and is currently studying BCom Financial Accounting. Boonzaaier played for PCA in the first year tournament last year. Without realising this was his next step to the Maties rugby team. “Everything happened quite unexpectedly. The coach of the Maties Young Guns, Christoff Lotter saw me play. He called me and told me to come train with the Young Guns. I could not believe it! Part of being a Matie for me is to play rugby for Maties. I then played the season for the Young Guns. Shortly before the end of the year I got another call, this time from Coach Hawies (Fourie, Maties’ coach). He asked me if I would be interested in playing for the Varsity team. Will I be interested! I could not believe it. Another dream come true. I give all the glory to God for the wonderful way things happened in my life thus far.”

He would have loved to end his career on his own terms, but to take chances with his health was not an option for Maties legend Beyers de Villiers.

De Villiers recently called halt on his career after the game against Tuks – the first in the Varsity Cup – in which he got a hard knock on the head and specialists advised him not to play again.

“Since my school rugby days I got concussed some 13 times and the last two years it was every two or three months. The side effects only became worse. I had headaches, difficulty with concentration and there were also times of amnesia. Before this year’s Varsity Cup I returned to the specialist and they told me that if I get concussed again they wont clear me to play. I lost consciousness for a few moments after the knock in the game against Tuks. And I knew … It just became too dangerous to play,” said De Villiers.

“It was a difficult, but also an easy decision to stop playing. The injury in fact made the decision for me. The doctor gave me no choice but to stop playing. There was no choice for me. So in that sense, it was easy. The hard part is that I am missing out on my last year of rugby. And that it happened at the beginning of the season. I would love to have played this year.”

To play with his health was never worth the risk, said De Villiers. “Any other injury – shoulder, leg, knee, hand – you can recover from. With good rehabilitation and treatment you can play, but with your brain…”

De Villiers made his debut for Maties in 2011. After six seasons what De Villiers will miss most at Maties is the off the field memories. “The culture, the feeling of being part of a family and the lessons I have learned. These are the highlights. I have made many friends and build relationships. Stellenbosch is also special. We played in two Varsity Cup finals, but unfortunately did not win. So I will remember the family culture the most form my time at Maties.”

In his time at Maties De Villiers played under Chean Roux, Chris Rossouw and now Hawies Fourie. “Maties Rugby is definitely on the right track. Hawies’ approach is one of establishing structures for support and a professional culture. Players get support so that they can study, go to the gym, etc. We will soon be where we should be. Like those universities that are linked to a union, such as Tukkies.”

De Villiers’ advice is to get complete concussion tests at the beginning of each season. “Find out what your baseline is. If you get with a few knocks – it’s difficult to assess the damage with every knock – go for tests again. Be honest with yourself about the symptoms. You’ll know instantly if it gets worse; when your memory or concentration deteriorates. Do not throw away your life because you want to play rugby for another year.”

With several national records and the very important qualifying times for the World Championships Maties Para Sport athletes returned form the recent South African national championships.

The national event took place in Port Elizabeth.

More than 10 athletes won gold medals and got qualifying times. For two of the athletes – legends Arnu Fourie and Ilse Hayes – it was their last national event.

Both won their numbers and qualified for the world championships in London from July 14 to 23. It will take place in the same stadium as the 2012 Paralympics.

Fourie won the 100m and 200m (T44) in 11:37 and 23:30 seconds respectively.

Hayes (T13) also won has her sprint numbers, but more important than the victories, was progress after an Achilles injury. “It was a race against time to get Ilse ready for the event. The 100m was her first full 100m from the blocks and as well as the 200m. We did not really know what to expect. Our biggest hope was that her Achilles survived the maximum impact. In the 100m and 200m, she impressed with her good technique. Although her times were far from her personal best, she showed we can now proceed to the next phase, “said coach Suzanne Ferreria said. Hayes’ times in the 100 and 200 were 12:40 and 26.45 respectively.

Dyan Buis (T38) and Anruné Liebenberg (T44) both won three gold medals in the sprints. “Dyan ran three good technical races. His times were also good. In the 400m, he literally had the wind from the front and it was a hard race. In all three races he was in the lead from start to finish,” said Ferreira.

About Liebenberg she added: “She ran good technical races, but she has run faster this season in 200m and 400m. It was also a privilege and very special for her to run the 100m and 200m with Ilse at Ilse’s last SA meeting. ”

The field athletes coach Karen le Roux was also very happy with her athletes’ performances. Veteran Zanele Situ (F54) qualified for the World Championships in three events. “Reinhardt Hamman (F38) came very close to his personal in the javelin just a few months after a major knee operation,” said Le Roux.

Another athlete who made his return is Jean Joubert (F44). He did not participate for two years. He broke the national record in shot put. “Kerwin Noemdo (F46) is also in very good shape and threw a personal best in the shot put and so improve his own national record.”